{"id":426867,"date":"2022-04-05T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/"},"modified":"2022-04-05T15:00:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T12:00:27","slug":"what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is a Warrant Canary, and Does It Really Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2554eebf1bc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2554eebf1bc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_a_Warrant_Canary_and_Does_It_Really_Work%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is a Warrant Canary, and Does It Really Work?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/#What_Is_a_Warrant_Canary\" >What Is a Warrant Canary?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/#How_a_Warrant_Canary_Works\" >How a Warrant Canary Works<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/#Warrant_Canaries_and_Transparency_Reports\" >Warrant Canaries and Transparency Reports<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/#How_Useful_Is_a_Warrant_Canary\" >How Useful Is a Warrant Canary?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_a_Warrant_Canary_and_Does_It_Really_Work%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is a Warrant Canary, and Does It Really Work?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-795154\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_763348258.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_763348258.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_763348258.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A canary in a cage.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/beautiful-yellow-canary-sitting-on-cage-763348258\">Hermansyah28\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When shopping for a VPN, you may have run into a feature called a warrant canary. Touted as extra protection against government surveillance, you may have wondered what it is and whether it\u2019s useful.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Warrant_Canary\"><\/span>What Is a Warrant Canary?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Some providers of privacy-focused services like VPNs have a warrant canary on their websites. A warranty canary is a way for a service to quietly send a signal that it has been served with a warrant for information about its users. For example, if people are using a VPN for torrenting and it shows the signal, that\u2019s a sign the VPN may have been forced to\u00a0report information about their users\u2019 peer-to-peer activity.<\/p>\n<p>The name comes from the canary British coal miners used to bring with them into the pits to detect carbon monoxide. As birds are a lot more susceptible to the gas than humans are, if the canary showed signs of distress\u2014or the poor creature died\u2014the miners knew they had to get out of the mine before they themselves would succumb to the odorless gas. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smart-news\/story-real-canary-coal-mine-180961570\/\"><i>Smithsonian Magazine<\/i><\/a> has a full history of the phenomenon.<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201ccanary in a coalmine\u201d has become synonymous with warning systems and the term is widely used in all kinds of situations. Digital services like secure cloud storage provider <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/spideroak.com\/transparency\/\">SpiderOak<\/a> have one, for example, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudflare.com\/learning\/privacy\/what-is-warrant-canary\/\">Cloudflare<\/a> states that one was used in a public library in Vermont. In the case of VPNs, the now-defunct VikingVPN seems to have been the first service to have offered it, though it seems a little hard to pin down for sure.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_a_Warrant_Canary_Works\"><\/span>How a Warrant Canary Works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are multiple variants of the warrant canary. At its most basic, it\u2019s a sign\u2014digital or otherwise\u2014that states something along the lines of \u201cwe\u2019ve not been served any warrants.\u201d If the sign is there, you know the coast is clear. If, however, the sign has been removed, you know a warrant or some other kind of information request has been served\u2014like a gag order or <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_security_letter\">national security letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll probably note that the warrant canary isn\u2019t specific in who got served or why: You just know the canary died, not what killed it. Just like in the mines, you\u2019re supposed to simply run. This is because most of these types of orders make it very clear that you\u2019re not supposed to tell the subject of the warrant that it\u2019s been served. A more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> warning like removing a sign skirts that rule.<\/p>\n<p>Informing the subject of a warrant usually means stiff penalties for the service in question and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>arently some orders come with the added instruction not to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> a warrant canary or anything similar. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/boingboing.net\/2015\/03\/26\/australia-outlaws-warrant-cana.html\">Australia<\/a> even went so far as to outlaw them completely.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Warrant_Canaries_and_Transparency_Reports\"><\/span>Warrant Canaries and Transparency Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>That\u2019s how warrant canaries work. However, you\u2019ll rarely see an old-fashioned warrant canary anymore. Most VPNs and other services will usually have some kind of report on their website that states whether they have been served or not. They\u2019re often still called a warrant canary, though the term \u201ctransparency report\u201d is popping up more and more often.<\/p>\n<p>One good example of a page like that is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/surfshark.com\/warrant-canary\">Surfshark<\/a>, which comes right out and tells you how many warrants and the like it has received. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.perfect-privacy.com\/en\/warrant-canary\">Perfect Privacy<\/a> does much the same. In each case, the page is regularly updated so you know when the company has been served and whether you need to rethink what you\u2019ve been doing while using the VPN.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Useful_Is_a_Warrant_Canary\"><\/span>How Useful Is a Warrant Canary?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As useful as a warrant canary may seem, though, especially for people using a VPN to cover activities that may be illegal in some jurisdictions (like torrenting,) there are some questions to raise about how useful they really are. The old-fashioned kind of warrant canary, which simply tells you something may have happened but you don\u2019t know what, seems mainly a great way to cause anxiety attacks.<\/p>\n<p>The new versions don\u2019t seem that much better. Sure, it\u2019s good to know a company has been served and with what, but as long as you don\u2019t know what it is, it just causes more anxiety. Are they after evidence that proves people have been torrenting some TV show, chasing down a Snowden-type whistleblower, or just trying to find some dude who has been harassing women online? You don\u2019t know, and you\u2019ll likely never find out.<\/p>\n<p>Added to that is another issue: if you\u2019ve been using a no-log VPN, there should be precious little to hand over in the first place. In a way, it shouldn\u2019t matter that a warrant was served. As long as the VPN is doing its job, a warrant shouldn\u2019t provide any useful information\u2014or at least not too much of it.<\/p>\n<p>A final issue is that transparency reports aren\u2019t always updated every time a warrant is served. Perfect Privacy only updates once a month, for example. Also, there\u2019s also the simple fact that some of these orders expressly don\u2019t allow warrant canaries to be tripped.<\/p>\n<p>Though it\u2019s a good sign that authorities don\u2019t like warrant canaries and other forms of transparency\u2014they wouldn\u2019t bother with shutting them down if they didn\u2019t do anything\u2014what they really add for users is doubtful. As an extra safeguard they may come in handy, but we wouldn\u2019t let our choice of the best VPN depend on whether or not they offer a warrant canary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/794171\/what-is-a-warrant-canary-and-does-it-really-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What Is a Warrant Canary, and Does It Really Work?&#8221; Hermansyah28\/Shutterstock.com When shopping for a VPN, you may have run into a feature called a warrant canary. Touted as extra protection against government surveillance, you may have wondered what it is and whether it\u2019s useful. What Is a Warrant Canary? Some providers of privacy-focused services&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":426868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_763348258.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-426867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}